Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
  • F02M—SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF
  • F02M37/00—Apparatus or systems for feeding liquid fuel from storage containers to carburettors or fuel-injection apparatus; Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines
  • F02M37/0076—Details of the fuel feeding system related to the fuel tank
  • F02M37/0088—Multiple separate fuel tanks or tanks being at least partially partitioned
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60K—ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
  • B60K15/00—Arrangement in connection with fuel supply of combustion engines or other fuel consuming energy converters, e.g. fuel cells; Mounting or construction of fuel tanks
  • B60K15/03—Fuel tanks
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
  • F02M—SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF
  • F02M37/00—Apparatus or systems for feeding liquid fuel from storage containers to carburettors or fuel-injection apparatus; Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines
  • F02M37/0047—Layout or arrangement of systems for feeding fuel
  • F02M37/0052—Details on the fuel return circuit; Arrangement of pressure regulators
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
  • F02M—SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF
  • F02M37/00—Apparatus or systems for feeding liquid fuel from storage containers to carburettors or fuel-injection apparatus; Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines
  • F02M37/02—Feeding by means of suction apparatus, e.g. by air flow through carburettors
  • F02M37/025—Feeding by means of a liquid fuel-driven jet pump
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
  • F02M—SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF
  • F02M37/00—Apparatus or systems for feeding liquid fuel from storage containers to carburettors or fuel-injection apparatus; Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines
  • F02M37/22—Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines, e.g. arrangements in the feeding system
  • F02M37/24—Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines, e.g. arrangements in the feeding system characterised by water separating means
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
  • F02M—SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF
  • F02M37/00—Apparatus or systems for feeding liquid fuel from storage containers to carburettors or fuel-injection apparatus; Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines
  • F02M37/22—Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines, e.g. arrangements in the feeding system
  • F02M37/32—Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines, e.g. arrangements in the feeding system characterised by filters or filter arrangements
  • F02M37/50—Filters arranged in or on fuel tanks
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60K—ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
  • B60K15/00—Arrangement in connection with fuel supply of combustion engines or other fuel consuming energy converters, e.g. fuel cells; Mounting or construction of fuel tanks
  • B60K15/03—Fuel tanks
  • B60K2015/03111—Swirl pots
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60K—ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
  • B60K15/00—Arrangement in connection with fuel supply of combustion engines or other fuel consuming energy converters, e.g. fuel cells; Mounting or construction of fuel tanks
  • B60K15/03—Fuel tanks
  • B60K2015/03236—Fuel tanks characterised by special filters, the mounting thereof

Definitions

• the invention relates to a device for water separation for a fuel tank connected to an engine in a vehicle, according to the preamble of claim 1.
• the invention relates also to a fuel tank according to claim 8 comprising the device, and a vehicle according to claim 9 comprising such a fuel tank.
• Fuel supply from a fuel tank to an engine in a vehicle currently involves problems with being able to apply and use the fuel in the tank for safe operation of the engine, because the fuel contains a certain amount of water.
• the water, which arises from condensation is separated from the fuel, e.g. by means of a filter.
• the water from, for example, this filter accumulates in the tank and may in time represent a significant amount. This amount of water has to be removed from the tank at regular intervals, e.g. during servicing of the vehicle.
• ancillary space which receives all return fuel from the engine, i.e. fuel mixed with water.
• the ancillary space occupies a small proportion of the fuel tank. Fuel from the lower portion of the ancillary space is drawn off to the engine. Being of higher density than fuel, water will stratify nearest to the bottom of the ancillary space, with the result that after a time the fuel supply from the ancillary space to the engine will contain a high concentration of water. When such is the case, the engine is supplied with more water than fuel, which may lead to the engine coming to a halt.
• the object of the present invention is to eliminate the above problems. This object is achieved by the fact that the line intended to supply fuel/water leads into a separate container which is situated in the ancillary space and which has its upper end always situated higher than an intended highest possible fuel level in the ancillary space.
• the line to the ancillary space is intended for return fuel from the engine and for water from a water-separating filter.
• This mixture of fuel/water thus occurs in the container, and when the container is full the fuel will overflow the edge/aperture of the container and reach the ancillary space from which the engine is supplied with fuel, while the water, owing to its higher density, separates from the fuel and remains in the container.
• the ancillary space may be situated in the tank, in which case it will be partly separated from the fuel tank by a wall or the like. This version involves few additional parts in cases where existing tank walls are used in the configuration of the ancillary space.
• the ancillary space may alternatively be situated outside the tank and take the form of a separate tank, which may be advantageous if available space is limited and it is undesirable to reduce the volume of the tank.
• the ancillary space may therefore be situated at any suitable location.
• the line intended to supply fuel/water from the engine is also intended, by means of a venturi tube, to draw fuel/water through a line from the fuel tank in order to deliver the contents of the lines to the container, with the result that fuel from the tank is drawn to the ancillary space without involving a pump device.
• This version provides an operationally reliable solution with no moving parts.
• two lines are so arranged that they lead into the container, one of them being the line intended to supply fuel/water from the engine and the other a line intended to supply fuel/water from the fuel tank, the line from the tank being provided with a pump unit.
• This alternative configuration may be advantageous if the venturi tube does not provide sufficient fuel supply to the ancillary space, since the pump unit can be dimensioned on the basis of the engine's expected fuel requirement.
• a filter is provided in the container to ensure that water is separated from fuel which runs from the container to the ancillary space when the container is full, which may be advantageous with a view to improving the water separation in that it takes a certain time for water and fuel to stratify in the container, particularly in cases where there are powerful movements of the vehicle.
• the level of fuel/water in the container drains to the same level as the level in the fuel tank, with the result that fuel/water and, above all, water present in the bottom of the container, accumulates in the fuel tank.
• This draining is entirely self-supporting and takes place by siphon action when the level in the container is higher than the level in the fuel tank.
• the siphon action thus has a positive effect and entails no risk of causing low levels of fuel in the ancillary space such as occur in previously known solutions in which the fuel tank and the ancillary space are connected together.
• Figure 1 depicts a device for water separation for a fuel tank according to an embodiment of the invention when the engine is in operation
• Figure 2 depicts a device for water separation for a fuel tank according to an embodiment of the invention when the engine is switched off
• Figure 3 depicts a device for water separation for a fuel tank according to a second embodiment of the invention.
• Figure 4 depicts a venturi tube forming part of one of the embodiments of the invention.
• Figure 1 depicts a device for water separation for a fuel tank 1 connected to an engine 16 in a vehicle.
• the fuel tank 1 comprises an ancillary space 2 containing a certain amount of fuel 10 and separated from the fuel tank by a wall 3 or the like.
• the ancillary space 2 may be situated in an outer portion of the fuel tank 1, as depicted in the drawings, e.g. in a corner of the tank, in which case the ancillary space 2 is delineated by walls between it and the interior of the fuel tank 1 and by walls of the fuel tank 1.
• Other positions of the ancillary space e.g. in the interior of the tank or outside the tank, are also possible. Where space is limited, the ancillary space 2 may be separate from the fuel tank 1.
• a line 4 leading into a separate container 7 supplies fuel/water.
• the container 7 is situated at a suitable location in the ancillary space 2 and fastened therein in a suitable manner and will thus contain a mixture of fuel and water, which water, owing to its higher density, will settle nearest to the bottom of the container, whereas the fuel will settle on top of the water.
• the upper end 12 of the container 7 is situated higher than a highest possible fuel level 10 in the ancillary space 2 so that the fuel runs down to the ancillary space 2 when the container 7 is full, whereas the water will stay in the container 7. Fuel from which water has separated is led from the ancillary space 2 to the engine 16 via a line 6.
• the container 7 has in this embodiment an elongate cylindrical shape, with an open upper end 12.
• the cross-section of the container 7 in this case is circular, but it may also be, for example, oval or rectangular.
• the ancillary space 2 occupies only a small proportion of the fuel tank. How large a proportion of the tank the ancillary space should occupy depends on the expected fuel requirement of the engine 16, e.g. the volume of the ancillary space may be of the order of 10-40% of the whole volume of the fuel tank 1.
• the container 7 there will thus be a mixture of fuel and water, which water, owing to its high density, will be nearest to the bottom of the container 7, as illustrated by ref. 8, whereas the fuel will stratify on top of the water higher up in the container 7.
• the level 8 in the container 7 reaches the upper end 12 of the container 7, the fuel will thus overflow the edge 12 and run down into the ancillary space 2 outside the container 7.
• return fuel is supplied from the engine 16 to the container 7 via the line 4.
• the return fuel may contain a certain amount of water arising from condensation and separated out, e.g. by an undepicted water-separating filter, before the fuel is supplied to the engine 16.
• the line 4 which supplies fuel/ water is provided with a venturi tube, depicted schematically at 13 in Figure 1 and in more detail in Figure 4.
• the venturi tube comprises a section 17 with reduced diameter which causes an increase in the flow velocity through the section 17, resulting in a negative pressure and consequent suction in a line 5 which has its one end connected to the section 17 where it joins the line 4 and its other end leading into the fuel tank 1. Fuel/water is thereby drawn from the fuel tank 1 through the line 5 for delivery of the contents of the lines 4, 5 into the container 7.
• Fuel is drawn to the engine 16 from the lower portion of the ancillary space 2 via a line 6. There is thus assurance that the inlet to the line 6 will always be below the fuel level 10 even if the ancillary space 2 is not entirely full of fuel.
• the ancillary space needs to be always relatively full of fuel to ensure reliable operation of the engine 16.
• the fact that the fuel level 11 in the fuel tank 1 is the same as or lower than the level 8 in the container 7 means that the levels will become equal. This is because siphon action between the connected spaces of the container 7 and the fuel tank 1 causes the level 8 of fuel/ water in the container 7 to drop to the same level 1 Ib as the fuel 1 Ia in the fuel tank 1, as depicted in Figure 2.
• the fact that the line 4 has its outlet situated at the bottom of the container means that water will substantially drain to the fuel tank 1 without causing any problems there, since no fuel is supplied from the fuel tank 1 directly to the engine 16. That space is also considerably larger than the ancillary space 2, so the water concentration in it will be relatively low and cause no problems.
• a further advantage of this version is that there is no direct connection between the ancillary space 2 and the fuel tank 1 , with the result that the fuel in the ancillary space 2 no longer drains to the fuel tank 1 by siphon action when the engine 16 stops, since the ancillary space 2 will keep the fuel at the higher level so that plenty of fuel is already present at the next start of the engine 16, which was not the case with previous solutions.
• Figure 3 depicts a further embodiment of the invention in which a line 15 from the fuel tank 1 is provided with a separate pump unit 14 of a suitable type instead of the previously mentioned venturi tube solution. Both the line 4 which then supplies fuel/water from the engine 16 and the line 15 which connects the fuel tank 1 and the container 7 then deliver fuel/water to the container 7.
• a filter may be provided in the container 7 to ensure better separation of water from the fuel which overflows the edge of the container 7 to the ancillary space 2 when the container is full.
• the volume of the container 7 will depend on, for example, the volume of the fuel tank 1 , the expected operating time of the vehicle and the magnitude of the flow of fuel and water. However, the volume is preferably such that the container 7 can accommodate the amount of water expected to be separated during an operating cycle of the engine 16. After the engine has switched off, the water in the container 7 drains to the fuel tank 1 via the connection to the fuel tank 1.
• the container 7 has with advantage the form of an oblong container, e.g. a circular cylinder open at its upper end 12 or a cylinder of oval or angular cross-section. As an alternative to an entirely open upper end, the cylinder may be partly closed at its upper end and only provided with apertures in the form of holes or the like for supplying and leading away fuel/water. Hoses or the like may be connected to the apertures.
• the container may have an upper end which is partly closed and provided with one or more apertures for leading fuel away to the ancillary space 2.
• Hoses or the like may also be connected to the apertures to lead the fuel to the ancillary space 2.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Sustainable Development (AREA)
• Sustainable Energy (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Cooling, Air Intake And Gas Exhaust, And Fuel Tank Arrangements In Propulsion Units (AREA)
• Medicines Containing Material From Animals Or Micro-Organisms (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=41398323

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Citations (3)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 2008
  • 2008-06-05 SE SE0801329A patent/SE532517C2/sv unknown
• 2009
  • 2009-04-27 BR BRPI0908648-0A patent/BRPI0908648A2/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2009-04-27 EP EP09758611.9A patent/EP2307221A4/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2009-04-27 WO PCT/SE2009/050442 patent/WO2009148384A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (3)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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